New York City Public Golf Compared

[LICC]

I've traveled plenty enough and I think the NY metro area (say within two hours from NYC) stacks up very well. Other than resort destinations (Bandon, Pebble Beach, etc.), what locales in the U.S. are clearly better than NY? While some disagree, Bethpage Black is considered the best muni and one of the best courses in the country. Other excellent courses like Ferry Point or Pound Ridge. At the next level you have Bethpage Red, Montauk Downs, Ballyowen. Then very good courses like Galloping Hill, Harbor Links, Neshanic, Bethpage Green and Blue. Other good ones like Mansion Ridge, Lido, Willow Creek, Timber Point, Hudson Hills. And then lots of decent, serviceable courses like Split Rock, Eisenhower, Oyster Bay, etc. 

How do NY public golf courses compare?

[David in FL]

I guess it depends on how you define”best”....or even “quality”.

If I had to sleep in my car in the hope of being “lucky” enough to play a 5+ hour round of golf, I’d seriously consider moving.  Or taking up tennis.

[Groucho Valentine]

4 minutes ago, David in FL said:

I guess it depends on how you define”best”....or even “quality”.

If I had to sleep in my car in the hope of being “lucky” enough to play a 5+ hour round of golf, I’d seriously consider moving.  Or taking up tennis.

The only people that sleep in their cars to play Bethpage are trophy hunters that are just looking to play the course were Major championships are played. Otherwise you can walk up or get a tee time just like any other muni. 

19 minutes ago, LICC said:

On another thread about Bethpage, someone knocked New York public golf courses compared to other places. I'm curious what cities/locales in the U.S. that people think have better public golf options. 

I've traveled plenty enough and I think the NY metro area (say within two hours from NYC) stacks up very well. Other than resort destinations (Bandon, Pebble Beach, etc.), what locales in the U.S. are clearly better than NY? While some disagree, Bethpage Black is considered the best muni and one of the best courses in the country. Other excellent courses like Ferry Point or Pound Ridge. At the next level you have Bethpage Red, Montauk Downs, Ballyowen. Then very good courses like Galloping Hill, Harbor Links, Neshanic, Bethpage Green and Blue. Other good ones like Mansion Ridge, Lido, Willow Creek, Timber Point, Hudson Hills. And then lots of decent, serviceable courses like Split Rock, Eisenhower, Oyster Bay, etc. 

How do NY public golf courses compare?

The muni system in NY isnt really all that different from anywhere else ive played. Courses in Queens and Brooklyn dont always offer the best value, but its not that much different from anywhere else. 

[nevets88]

24 minutes ago, David in FL said:

I guess it depends on how you define”best”....or even “quality”.

If I had to sleep in my car in the hope of being “lucky” enough to play a 5+ hour round of golf, I’d seriously consider moving.  Or taking up tennis.

6+

https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/comments/btr5yr/5_hours_15_minutes_to_get_to_the_15th_tee_box/

[David in FL]

11 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

6+

https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/comments/btr5yr/5_hours_15_minutes_to_get_to_the_15th_tee_box/

Kill me.

I’m curious.  Is there no online reservation system in place?    These days I would think that would be the most equitable way to manage demand.  

If not, why not?  

[DeadMan]

It's really not a surprise that there would be a lot of golf courses in a metro area that has 20 million people living in it. From the outside, I'm not sure I would want to play much public golf in the New York area. I would imagine courses are either hard to get to, take forever to play, aren't very good, or are super expensive (or some combination). I doubt there's many courses that are accessible, reasonably paced, good, and reasonably priced. I imagine you can easily find a combination of some of these, but not all. This is based off my experience in Denver, where there are very few public courses that meet that bill. That's with fewer people and cheaper land.

I would say that the Pinehurst area has an incredible amount of really good public courses. I doubt there's many other places in the country that have the amount of courses that Pinehurst has, and there are some fantastic courses, too (#2, #4).

[nevets88]

1 hour ago, David in FL said:

Kill me.

I’m curious.  Is there no online reservation system in place?    These days I would think that would be the most equitable way to manage demand.  

If not, why not?  

It has been for awhile. Many of the old aspects of the reservation system previous to the online implementation have been retained. 

[LICC]

Bethpage has an online reservation system and you can walk up. It's really not unlike any other popular course as far as getting a tee time. The people who sleep in the cars are the ones who want to tee off before 8am on a weekend.

@DeadMan I'm sure the Pinehurst area stands out as among the best in the country for public golf. That is why I said other than destination resort areas. I also wonder if public courses in every urban or suburban area are crowded with slow rounds. Probably.

[Phil McGleno]

16 minutes ago, LICC said:

Bethpage has an online reservation system and you can walk up. It's really not unlike any other popular course as far as getting a tee time. The people who sleep in the cars are the ones who want to tee off before 8am on a weekend.

@DeadMan I'm sure the Pinehurst area stands out as among the best in the country for public golf. That is why I said other than destination resort areas. I also wonder if public courses in every urban or suburban area are crowded with slow rounds. Probably.

First you define New York as a four hour diameter then exclude resort areas.-Ha ha. Next just exclude any courses not pretend designed by Tillinghast.

[DeadMan]

22 minutes ago, LICC said:

@DeadMan I'm sure the Pinehurst area stands out as among the best in the country for public golf. That is why I said other than destination resort areas. I also wonder if public courses in every urban or suburban area are crowded with slow rounds. Probably.

Pinehurst isn't just a resort destination like Bandon or Pebble. You're not going just to be at the Pinehurst Resort itself. There are a ton of golf courses beyond the resort itself, which is what I was mostly talking about.

Edited May 28, 2019 by DeadMan

[LICC]

4 minutes ago, Phil McGleno said:

First you define New York as a four hour diameter then exclude resort areas.-Ha ha. Next just exclude any courses not pretend designed by Tillinghast.

Within 2 hours of NYC is the NY Metro area. Not sure what you find funny about that.

If you think Bethpage was not designed by Tillinghast, I can't take seriously anything you say about golf courses.

1 minute ago, DeadMan said:

Pinehurst isn't just a resort destination like Bandon or Pebble. You're not going just to be at the Pinehurst Resort itself. There are a ton of golf courses beyond the resort itself, which is what I was mostly talking about.

Understood. And all those courses get high levels of play from people travelling there for golf. But I can agree that Pinehurst has better public golf courses than the NYC area. Any others?

[Phil McGleno]

5 minutes ago, LICC said:

If you think Bethpage was not designed by Tillinghast, I can't take seriously anything you say about golf courses.

Burbeck did it. Tillinghast was only on property two weeks or whatev.

The Real Man Behind Bethpage Black - Golf Digest

---

As Golf Digest first reported in 2002, the celebrated Tillinghast course isn't a Tillie course after...

Also: Dallas. Myrtle. San Diego. Seattle. Columbus.

[RayG]

28 minutes ago, LICC said:

Bethpage has an online reservation system and you can walk up. It's really not unlike any other popular course as far as getting a tee time. The people who sleep in the cars are the ones who want to tee off before 8am on a weekend.

Maybe... they have SOME slots available for first off/early off.. then you get slotted in where there is an opening. You might need to wait until 11am or later to get on the Black.

[DeadMan]

Can I get a ruling on whether we're including Philadelphia in the New York metro area? I believe that's technically within a 2 hour drive of Philadelphia - at the right time of day, so...

[Shindig]

1 minute ago, DeadMan said:

Can I get a ruling on whether we're including Philadelphia in the New York metro area? I believe that's technically within a 2 hour drive of Philadelphia - at the right time of day, so...

Similarly, if I were to try to make a case for Los Angeles, could I include the two courses at Brookside?  How about Torrey Pines?  

If I am talking about the greater Phoenix (AZ) area, can I include Tempe?  Scottsdale?  Glendale?  

[LICC]

2 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

Can I get a ruling on whether we're including Philadelphia in the New York metro area? I believe that's technically within a 2 hour drive of Philadelphia - at the right time of day, so...

Ha! You are right about the timing buy Philly is not considered the NY area.

[boogielicious]

1 minute ago, LICC said:

Ha! You are right about the timing buy Philly is not considered the NY area.

And New Yorkers don't through snow balls at Santa like those Philly folks do!!

[LICC]

11 minutes ago, Phil McGleno said:

Burbeck did it. Tillinghast was only on property two weeks or whatev.

The Real Man Behind Bethpage Black - Golf Digest

---

As Golf Digest first reported in 2002, the celebrated Tillinghast course isn't a Tillie course after...

Also: Dallas. Myrtle. San Diego. Seattle. Columbus.

Yes, Whitten wrote a stupid story to grab headlines that is extremely shoddy. Look at the actual facts and you see that story makes no sense.

Architect of Bethpage Black